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Planet Waves Horoscopes: November 2008

Aries (March 20-April 19) Achievement has not come easily for you in recent years, though having extremely idealistic goals certainly has. The polarity between the two states of being has at times been painful to stretch yourself across. You have surely made an effort, and you have been patient; this has taught you something crucial, which is temperance. You have wracked your spirit on many debates over the ethics of your choices, and have often tried to live as if you were spiritual rather than simply real. Deep in there, you have questioned whether you are a good enough person to deserve success. Has it occurred to that so much that you’ve been trying to work out was not your own personal material but rather the legacy of the parent who tried to cast their shadow over you? That shadow seemed like light; it was veiled in terms like “growth” and “mystical” and even “cosmic.” It may have simply been someone’s religious trip that was endured by someone in a time before you lived; God knows there are plenty of them in our DNA. The message of Pluto’s entry into Capricorn is that it’s time for you to define accomplishment on your own terms. You set your own objectives and you determine the extent to which you need to go to make something happen in the world. Yet the more compelling point is this. Success is not doing what is expected of you. Often it is about specifically giving up those expectations, and taking up the responsibility and the privilege of independence. Taurus (April 19-May 20) Many of my recent columns have guided you to seek understanding of what you believe and why—and to see the power of those beliefs to influence your existence. The most enduring mental constructions in our society would appear to be things like guilt, sacrifice, and an obsession with scarcity. It would not be stretching things to say these ideas tend to form the foundation of our thought structure as a culture and as individuals. This in turn would help explain why we are so obsessed with having more, and with dramas of right and wrong. Now imagine all of this is like a rigid structure that holds back your potential, your energy, your talent and most of all your ability to define your existence on the basis of love and not loss. You may already know this, and what may all-but-terrify you is the notion that if your belief structures are challenged or destroyed, your existence will somehow collapse. How many times have you had this feeling, this lurking sense that you are somehow held up by whatever you believe, which makes it precious—even if it’s not true, even if it’s hurting you or limiting your potential? As you begin to experience something new, remember this imagery. Feel the energy pouring out of the spaces where it was contained by your own false notions about life. Gemini (May 20-June 21) For those born under the sign of Gemini or Gemini rising, the years 1994 through 2008 (Pluto in Sagittarius) mark a crucial phase in your lifelong journey of learning about relationships, of deepening them, and of exploring their impact on your life, for better or for worse. I’m going to take an educated guess and say that what you’ve learned is how not to be intimidated by the people you care about, and for that matter, by those who mean somewhat less to you. You have learned to stand on your own, and to meet the intensity that others offer you with flexibility and an open mind. You have learned to allow others the very influence on your life you’ve always said you wanted. All of us on Earth face the question of how to experience “the other”—that which is different than us, opposite from our viewpoint, unusual, incomprehensible; that which we desire, need, or want, and overall that which is other. And in a world so often defined by dualism, that is, by the clash and dance of opposites, this can be harrowing. Yet we deeply need these influences. What you have learned, I trust, is to use them for your growth and betterment rather than for drama or as part of a victim trip. As Pluto makes its way into Capricorn, the angle of the conversation changes, and you will need every skill you’ve learned.